Members of the 173rd Fighter Wing take part in their demobilization ceremony Nov. 4, 2017, at Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, Ore. The ceremony formally recognized the wildland fire fighters and the 56 Kingsley Field Airmen who deployed during the wing’s first ever large-scale deployment throughout 2017. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Riley Johnson)

Kingsley Field airmen recognized during demobilization ceremony


Members of the 173rd Fighter Wing take part in their demobilization ceremony Nov. 4, 2017, at Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, Ore. The ceremony formally recognized the wildland fire fighters and the 56 Kingsley Field Airmen who deployed during the wing’s first ever large-scale deployment throughout 2017. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Riley Johnson)

KLAMATH FALLS, Ore. – Kingsley Field airmen who helped fight wildfires this summer were honored during a demobilization ceremony.

Almost 100 airmen from Kingsley Field assisted with fighting wildfires, including the Chetco Bar Fire and a complex near Crater Lake.

The airmen with the 173rd Fighter Wing were deployed under a news process called Reserve Component Periods (RCP), during which they assist in operations throughout the world.

In addition to fighting local wildfires, this Reserve Component Period saw airmen deployed to other countries, including United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Jordan and Kuwait.

U.S. Air Force General Michael E. Stencel serves as the Oregon Air National Guard’s adjunct general. He was in attendance at the demobilization ceremony and said he was thankful for the support of the families of those deployed. “First, I would like to offer my thanks and appreciation to those of you who supported our troops while they were deployed…if not for the flexibility of the employers and the support of the families that hold their lives together while they were gone, our Airmen would not have been able to serve,” Gen. Stencel said.

The first 173rd Fighter Wing airmen departed Kingsley Field in October of 2016 and the last returned home September 2017.

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